First off, I have no doubt that it is art. I dont think whats really at issue with 3D art is using meshes made by others. Just as a painter uses pre-made canvas, brush and paint products, the 3D artist uses pre-made meshes and computer programs. The real question I see here is: How original is your 3D art? If you use someone elses meshes, light sets, poses, and textures; how much of you is in your artwork? That is the biggest distinction between traditional mediums and 3D Graphics, IMO. Even though a traditional artist uses a brush that was made by someone else, they still have to perform millions of unique brush strokes and choices of color mixing. The end result is an image that is uniquely theirs. A 3D artist that uses Vicki, but spends time making custom morphs, textures, lighting, camera angles and postwork has also made their work uniquely theirs. While a 3D purist might argue that its not art if you dont make the mesh yourself, I could take that a step further and argue that purist isnt making art if they dont create the program that makes the mesh. That kind of logic is a silly as telling a painter their work isnt original because they didnt make the canvas its painted on. So I find the ultimate question of is it art or not to be rather silly. Art is not a fact; art is a feeling. Art is something we each experience differently and therefore can never be defined like so many people wish it to be. When an artist puts something of themselves into a work, I find myself most moved by it. That is my opinion on what I consider art to be. It can mean something entirely different to you and it would be no less valid.